Tech giant crashes

More than £3.8billion was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest tech firm yesterday as it revealed a slump in sales and its boss quit.

Shares in Micro Focus crashed 46% after a warning takings were tumbling faster than feared.

The Newbury-based firm’s £6.8bn takeover of Hewlett Packard’s software arm last year has lumbered Micro Focus with a host of problems. Projected sales to November are expected to be down as much as 9% – far worse than the 2%-4% decline warned of in January. Meanwhile, chief executive Chris Hsu is quitting to “spend more time with his family”, after just six months in the role.

Kevin Loosemore, the company chairman, insisted: “We remain confident in Micro Focus’s strategy.”